In this article
Quick takeaways
Duvet days boost mental health by allowing staff an extra 2-4 days per year that does not deduct from their sick leave or annual leave allowances.
Trust is a key component of a successful duvet day policy, relying on responsible use, clear communication and manager support.
- Business leaders should benefit from duvet days too, as leaders who have healthy work-life balance are more focused, resilient and effective in their roles.
Some days, finding the motivation to get out of bed and attend to life feels impossible.
If that feeling hits on a workday and you are fortunate enough to have "duvet days" at your workplace, you'll get the day off to recuperate. Best of all, your duvet day is not counted as sick or annual leave and is a no-questions-asked in nature. Understanding what a duvet day is can highlight how this simple leave policy offers significant mental health benefits.
What are duvet days?
Duvet Days are paid or unpaid days off that employees can take at short notice to rest and recharge, without needing to provide a reason or documentation, unlike sick leave, which may entitle you to statutory sick pay.
How do duvet days work?
Around the UK, people are looking for better mental health support from their employers to keep them going, as 29% of people took a short-term absence from work due to mental health issues.
Rather than rely on sick days to assist employees with stress or mental health recovery, employers are implementing duvet days, or employee wellbeing days.
What does a typical policy allow?
- 2-4 extra days off per year
- Can be taken at short notice
- They are not counted as sick leave or annual leave
- Offered on a trust basis
- No justification or documentation required
As duvet days are not a statutory leave entitlement, they are optional and can be paid or unpaid. They are usually offered as a gesture of goodwill and as proof that the employer values staff's wellbeing.
How to introduce duvet days into your workplace
Duvet day policies rely on a trusting relationship between employers and employees to be successful.
It is crucial that they are positioned as a benefit, and not a loophole, so that everybody feels that they are applied and used fairly. When employees feel trusted, they are more likely to use them responsibly.
Use the right software to facillitate it
Using a leave management system that allows you to create custom leave types is very helpful in facilitating this, as each staff member can have an entitlement that is immediately deducted as it is used. This ensures that staff receive the correct benefit, and managers never have to manually calculate leave balances.
Be upfront with your team about:
- What duvet days are
- How they work
- Whether they are paid or unpaid
- Why you offer it in your business
Your team needs to understand that it is a commitment to supporting their mental health, separate from sick and annual leave. Communicating this clearly will remove any uncertainty and encourage your people to use time off appropriately.
As with all workplace policies, your managers play a key role in the success of duvet day policies.
Ensure that they have been trained to extend the offering with empathy, avoid unnecessary questioning and support employees taking time off when needed.
When managers are well informed, they can make a huge difference between a policy that exists only on paper and one that actually benefits staff.
Your policy should be straightforward and avoid any unnecessary barriers to use by your staff.
Ensure to outline:
- How many duvet days are available per year
- Who needs to be notified
- How to notifiy your manager or supervisor (e.g. creating a Duvet Day request in Leave Dates)
- If and when there are limitations around peak periods
Simple and flexible guidelines will make it easy for employees to take their time off when they need it, and for managers to monitor it consistently.
Examples of duvet day policies around the world
Did you know? Like the toothbrush, chocolate bars and automatic kettles, duvet days were a British invention. The meaning of a duvet day has evolved quite a bit since its British origins, now recognised globally as a valuable mental health leave policy.
Where did duvet days originate?
Duvet days were introduced into the workforce by PR company August in the late 90s.One Communications. Shortly after, a US-based PR company, Archetype, then known as Text100, quickly adopted the duvet day (along with the British name). However, in some businesses, they are also referred to as 'employee wellbeing days'. While they have not become standard practice, they have gained popularity in the UK and worldwide.
UK example: Type A Media does a weekly duvet day
London-based SEO agency Type A Media implemented a four-day work week and mental health days "before it was cool", according to their website, with their Managing Director, Ross Tavendale, telling Metro "Every Friday is a duvet day." He reports better success in recruiting talent, as more people are looking for balance in their work life; he also has found a rise in productivity and a fall in sick days.
Overseas example: Australia's Best Places to Work - and sleep in
Carman's Kitchen
Across a few ponds, popular Australian muesli company Carman's Kitchen won the AFR Best Places to Work honour for 'Most Outstanding Practice - Employee Wellbeing' in 2021, partly due to their duvet day policy. Known as a 'doona day' in the land down under, Carman's offers their team two days per year to use how they please.
HSBC Australia
Duvet days are a relatively new concept in Australia, but it is more than just agile small businesses like Carman's that have been able to trial them. HSBC Australia trialled 'wellness days' in 2016 for 12 months, giving their team of approximately 1800 people one day off with 78% uptake and excellent feedback. Today, their wellness days are part of a standard offering, and after five years of service, staff are upgraded to three wellness days per year.
Duvet days and the lingering stigma of mental health issues
Employees still hesitate to use their duvet days
While we are slowly but surely improving attitudes to mental health in the workplace, many workers are still concerned that if they take a day off unexpectedly, they may fall into the centre of judgment, rumours or even discrimination in the workplace.
Issues of trust play a huge role in the success of a duvet day policy; staff need to know that it is offered in good faith with the expectation that it will be utilised. By normalising duvet days for your entire team, companies can help reduce the stigma around taking time off for mental health reasons, leading to a more supportive work environment.
The role of trust in duvet day policies
As duvet days are generally designed to support mental health, management should treat these events with sensitivity and discretion. Suppose a workplace is genuine about creating an environment that promotes awareness around mental health. In that case, it will be seen at all levels of the business and incorporated into the values practised daily by the team; it may even form part of the recruitment process in ensuring candidates are a good culture fit.
How duvet days support a healthier workplace culture
In creating a culture of acceptance, a colleague experiencing mental health issues will more likely spring back and become a champion of your organisation if they feel they have the space and support to recover. While the humble duvet day is only one policy of many that can improve this culture, it is a great start that goes above and beyond the statutory leave offering.
Prevent burnout with wellbeing leave
Encourage a healthy work-life balance with dedicated wellbeing days. Leave Dates makes it effortless to manage time off that protects your team from burnout.
Mental health and leadership
Why leaders need duvet days too
Business leaders are equally able to benefit from taking a duvet day, giving them the chance to recharge and maintain, or even boost their effectiveness at work. The person in our workplace who is often forgotten in the mental health conversation sits in the lonely spot at the top of the organisation chart, the CEO. They are often at the forefront of complex challenges, critical decision-making, supporting teams and other stakeholders.
Many people in higher management are great advocates for mental health initiatives for staff, but when it comes to their own, many have to be close to their deathbed before they acknowledge that they need a break. Grace Beverly, founder and CEO of TALA, admitted on the Diary of a CEO Podcast that despite being a fierce advocate for mental health initiatives in her company, when it came to herself, it took her being hospitalised with seizures before she took her condition seriously.
Final thoughts
Duvet days are a simple yet powerful tool for supporting your employees' mental health. Successfully implementing duvet days in any business requires a two-way culture of trust and acceptance, along with a highly supportive environment. Beyond happy, productive staff, the benefits of duvet days extend to CEOs and high-level managers, helping them remain effective in their roles. By offering and encouraging mental health care at all levels, businesses of all types can make the most of their talented teams.
FAQs
A duvet day is a short-notice day off offered by some employers for mental health and wellbeing purposes.
It is used as a way to support employee wellbeing with time off, without affexting sickness leave or annual leave entitlements.
Duvet days are non-statutory in the UK, so they are an optional employer benefit; they can be either paid or unpaid, depending on the individual employer's policy.
Policies will vary from employer to employer, but it is typically in the range of 1-4 days per year. The number of days off is set by each employer and aims to support staff wellbeing without affecting workflow.
